But / however (mild) with 不过

Structure … ，不过 + nuance

不过 (bùguò) is "but / however", softer and more colloquial than 但是. It adds a small qualification or reservation without fully contradicting: 这个菜很好吃，不过有点儿贵 = "the dish is tasty, though a bit expensive". It goes at the start of the second clause.

Examples

这zhè个ge菜cài很hěn好hǎo吃chī，不bù过guò有yǒu点diǎn儿r贵guì。
The dish is tasty, though a bit pricey.
我wǒ想xiǎng去qù，不bù过guò没méi时shí间jiān。
I’d like to go, but I have no time.
他tā很hěn聪cōng明míng，不bù过guò不bù太tài努nǔ力lì。
He’s smart, but not very hardworking.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.